Sacramento – Earlier today, AB 1867, the Tracking Records and Complaints Act (TRAC Act), was heard and passed out of the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations. AB 1867 would require both public and private employers to maintain their records concerning employee sexual harassment complaints for the period of employment and the following five years. The bill is one of the foundational pieces of legislation around the Me Too movement in California that has had a jarring effect on the Capitol community and around the rest of the country.

Recent accounts of sexual misconduct inside and outside of government and business have shown the clear need to take a much closer look at the policies in place that are meant to keep employees safe and hold those who violate policy, accountable. “We have seen the stories of harassers that have been able to move from job to job, sometimes in the same organization and continue their behavior,” said Assemblymember Reyes. “The retention of these records will hold everyone accountable and ensure that repeat offenders do not continue to victimize others.”

The legislation behind the bill stems from mid to late 2017 in which a string of high profile figures from Hollywood to government officials have been accused of sexual harassment in the workplace. In Sacramento specifically, the push behind reform started with a letter signed by nearly 150 women denouncing repeated harassment in the State Capitol and associated businesses.

AB 1867 next goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee to be heard in policy committee. For more information on the bill or to follow it, click here.

Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes represents Assembly District 47 which includes the cities of Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Grand Terrace, San Bernardino and the unincorporated areas of Muscoy and Bloomington.